Victims urged to come forward

Police have urged victims of honour based abuse to come forward following the conviction. It comes as Shamim Akhtar, Zahid Mahmood and Shamrez Khan are facing jail for their role in kidnapping and drugging Naila Afsar.

Police have urged victims of honour based abuse to come forward following the conviction.

It comes as Shamim Akhtar, Zahid Mahmood and Shamrez Khan are facing jail for their role in kidnapping and drugging Naila Afsar.

They appear before Judge Simon Newell at Burnley Crown Court next month.

Following the trial Lancashire Police urged victims of similar crimes to come forward.

DI Mark Vaughton, pictured, said: "Although this is a very rare and unusual case, we urge anyone that is suffering in similar circumstances to come forward and contact the police.

"Lancashire Constabulary will not tolerate any acts of honour based abuse in our communities and will treat offences very seriously."

DI Vaughton added that the constabulary has specialist teams dealing with the issue of honour based abuse across the county as well as outreach workers out in the community.

He added: "We work very closely with professionals such as healthcare staff, the Lancashire Domestic Violence Partnership, Social Services and teachers to ensure victims of forced marriage receive the best possible help from all agencies.

"We understand the complex cultural issues around victims coming forward but as this case demonstrates we are committed to investigating any reports of this nature thoroughly and will do everything within our powers to bring offenders before the courts."

Anyone with information or concerns about honour based crime can contact police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on: 0800 555 111 or at: www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

No personal information will be taken, information will not be traced or recorded and you will not be asked to go to court.